The present invention relates generally to article carriers which are adapted to be secured to a portion of a motor vehicle and more particularly to such carriers comprising an article supporting panel member which is adapted to allow a rack member to be secured thereto.
There are a wide variety of article carriers suitable for attachment to various portions of a motor vehicle currently available on the market. Generally, these article carriers comprise a rack portion enclosing a generally rectangular area which is secured to a portion of the motor vehicle and may include a plurality of longitudinally extending slat members spaced in substantially parallel relationship across the enclosed area. The rack member serves to retain the articles in position upon the rib members which support the article in a spaced relationship from the vehicle surface so as to prevent marring of the vehicle surface by the article as well as to aid in dispersing the weight of the article over a greater surface area of the vehicle. As each of the components of such carriers must be separately assembled and individually secured to the vehicle, the time required to install such racks is considerable. Further, as each of these individual members is generally separately secured, numerous holes must be provided in the surface portion of the vehicle which may collect corrosion causing contaminants from the environment as well as providing additional openings into the interior of the vehicle which may be subject to leakage. Further, it may be desirable to carry various articles which are of a size as to fit between the longitudinally extending rib members and thus rest upon the painted surface of the vehicle. These articles may result in marring of the painted surface due to movement during transportation thereof.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an article carrier adapted to be secured to a portion of a motor vehicle which overcomes these problems. The article carrier of the present invention comprises a base member which may include a plurality of integrally formed spaced substantially parallel longitudinally extending rib members which act to disperse the load of the article over substantially the entire surface area of the panel member. Further, the panel member is adapted to have an enclosing rack member secured thereto so as to restrain articles supported by the panel within the enclosed area. As the panel member covers substantially the entire area enclosed by the rack member, any marring of the surface of the motor vehicle is substantially eliminated. Further, as the panel member comprises a single piece, it may be easily secured to the motor vehicle with a minimum number of fasteners thus resulting in substantially reduced installation time as well as eliminating the necessity of providing numerous holes through the surface portion of the vehicle. This not only reduces the possibility of leakage occurring through these holes, but also makes it possible for an individual no longer desiring the rack on the vehicle to more easily remove and repair the openings provided therein. In another embodiment, the article carrier of the present invention includes an intermediate panel member having a plurality of transversely extending rib members provided therein which acts to further insure adequate dispersal of the load exerted by the article being carried upon the article supporting panel member.
Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the appended claims and the drawings.